The changing legislation governing the provision of SMSF advice by the accounting profession is prompting many practitioners to assess their succession planning options, according to an industry expert.

The SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) has endorsed the federal government’s decision to set up an enhanced public register of financial advisers.

The latest market research from Vanguard Investments has revealed while SMSF portfolios in the main have outperformed their retail fund counterparts, they have taken on substantially more risk in doing so.

CPA Australia has warned accountants the favourable transitioning rules currently in place for the new licensing regime regarding financial advice for SMSF clients will expire on 1 July 2016 with significant resulting consequences.

The SMSF service provider industry is large, diverse and flourishing, with firms extending their services away from traditional offerings in order to capture more opportunities, according to the latest Macquarie/SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) research.

The onerous and time-consuming nature of implementing key SMSF strategies and tasks means advisers need to look at maximising the use of automation to alleviate this burden and ensure efficient execution of these elements, according to a sector expert.

Audit software company Auditflow has forged a strategic partnership that will see its cloud-based auditing facility made available to users of SMSF accounting and administration software specialist BGL Corporate.

Advisers need to position themselves as running either a boutique business or one that takes advantage of significant scale, according to a succession planning expert.

Australian asset managers will continue to be attracted to the SMSF industry, but in order to compete successfully, they must ensure they can meet the market’s desire for low-cost tailored offerings, according to State Street.